Nearly a month after a deadly blaze at a night club in Russia's Urals city of Perm, the death toll is continuing to rise.
A woman has died in hospital in Moscow bringing the toll in the December 5, 2009 fire to 154 people, regional emergencies officials said on Saturday.
Officials said 61 people are continuing to undergo treatment in hospitals in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm and other cities.
Doctors said victims suffered extensive burns and severe respiratory injuries.
The fire began in the Lame Horse night club after an indoor firework display went wrong, causing the wicker-decorated ceiling to catch alight. The death toll from the tragedy has risen steadily throughout the recent weeks.
The Perm fire was the deadliest Russia has seen in half a century. In 1961, a total of 110 people, including 106 children, died in a fire that broke out in a wooden school in Chuvashia.
Russia has an appalling fire-safety record. According to the country's emergency services, 15,165 people died in fires across the country in 2008, including 584 children. In the United States, with more than twice the population, the figure is around 3,400 deaths a year.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, January 2 (RIA Novosti)
